Students Present Annual Seforim Sale

The students of Yeshiva University will present their annual Seforim Sale, North America’s largest Jewish book sale, from February 5-26, 2017, in Belfer Hall, 2495 Amsterdam Ave on YU’s Wilf Campus in Manhattan. The sale is operated entirely by YU students—from ordering books to setting up the premises, marketing and all the technology the project demands.

Last year the acclaimed Jewish book sale drew more than 15,000 people from the tri-state area and grossed close to $1 million in sales. The annual event provides discounted prices on the latest of nearly 12,500 titles in rabbinic and academic literature, cookbooks and children’s books. The 2017 Seforim Sale will also offer a wide range of music and Judaica options from around the world.

The Seforim Sale has become a highlight for the YU community, as students, alumni and members of the community gather to visit their alma mater, see old friends and add books to their personal libraries. Proceeds from the sale support various initiatives, including student activities on campus and undergraduate scholarships. The theme of this year’s sale is “Technology and Torah”; events and programming throughout the Sale will focus on the ways technological innovations can enhance and aid Torah learning for the modern Jew.

“Technology is constantly evolving around us, and as religious Jews we sometimes struggle to find the right balance of what and how much of it to incorporate in our lives,” said Avi Sebbag, CEO of the Seforim Sale. “We wanted to showcase the many positive ways that technology can impact learning and Judasim—whether it’s a resource like Sefaria that is so helpful in putting together source sheets for shiurim [lectures] or an app that helps teach children bedtime prayers.”

Some of the speakers who will present at the Sale include Barry Schwartz, CEO of RustyBrick and a designer of the children’s Kriat Shema Al-HaMitah app, as well as Dr. Jeffrey Gurock, the Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History at YU, about his new book, The Jews of Harlem: The Rise, Decline and Revival of a Jewish Community (New York University Press). The Seforim Sale will also feature a Saturday Night Panel Series on a broad range of topics, including a discussion of chassidut in the modern world, moderated by Rav Dovid Bashevkin, director of education at NCSY; a medical ethics panel focusing on assisted suicide and its practical and halachic implications with Dr. Kenneth Prager, director of clinical ethics at Columbia University, and Dr. Rob Sidlow, head of the division of survivorship and supportive care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; as well as a presentation by YU Connects.

Those who cannot attend the sale can take advantage of the great prices and vast catalog selection by ordering online on the Seforim Sale’s website, www.theseforimsale.com. Visit the site for a complete listing of dates and times, to purchase gift certificates, to view the online catalog or learn more about scheduled events.